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Chloe Kim floating her way to her second win of the day / Photo: Cyril Mueller

For what had been a challenging week weather wise at the 14th Burton European Open in Laax, we were relieved when we woke to bluebird conditions on the final day of competition. It was to be a day of pint-sized, world class snowboarding from kids aged 14 and under with the junior halfpipe and slopestyle contests. Many of todays top pro riders such as Peetu Piiroinen and Iouri Podladtchikov have taken wins in the BEO Junior jams of the past and so they’re always an interesting snapshot at tomorrow’s champions. Chloe Kim (USA), Jake Pates (USA) and Marcus Kleveland (NOR) delivered the goods on the day and are the new BEO 2013 Junior Champions.

Jake Pates is yet another young Burton ripper to keep an eye on over the next few years. He absolutely sent it in the halfpipe / Photo: Marcel Lammerhirt

12 year old Chloe Kim scored an almost perfect score of 99.17 in the pipe and dominated the slopestyle as well, while Markus Cleveland and Jake Pates bossed it in slopestyle and halfpipe respectively. All three have earned invitations to the US Open starting February 26th where they’ll get to ride alongside their heros in the main competition. They’ll also get to compete in the adult division of next year’s BEO.

Just as much as the Juniors event is about watching the unbelievable level of riding that some of these kids are capable of, it’s also about celebrating the amount of excitement that these young whipper snappers get from dropping into a 6m halfpipe for the first time with the support from their family and friends. All in all it was an inspiring end to the 14th Burton European Open. Big thanks to everyone that made the event possible and see you next year for number 15!

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